Abetina di Castiglione Messer Marino
Pochi e localizzati sono ormai i boschi di abete bianco nell'Italia peninsulare. Uno dei nuclei più consistenti si trova proprio nel comune di Castiglione Messer Marino. L'Oasi naturale Abetina di Selva Grande è un'area naturale protetta istituita nel 1996 e gestita dal WWF dove foreste di abeti e di faggi, un tempo usati per la legna e per la produzione del carbone, rivestono rilievi e vallate incontaminate. L'Abetina di Selva Grande, che si estende per 800 ettari, è suddivisa in tre parti: il bosco di abete bianco, la faggeta e le aree pascolo. L'abete bianco si presenta da solo, oppure misto al faggio ed altre specie come aceri, tra cui il raro acero di Lobelius, il tasso, il tiglio, il frassino maggiore, l'olmo montano, il carpino bianco, il cerro, il nocciolo e il sorbo montano. Ricchissimo il sottobosco, con piante molto belle come il croco, la scilla, il sigillo di Salomone e l'aquilegia.
I mammiferi sono rappresentati dalle specie più nobili: lupo, gatto selvatico, martora e capriolo. Si possono osservare inoltre picchi, tra cui il raro picchio nero, e molti rapaci, come l'astore, lo sparviero, la poiana e, tra i notturni, l'allocco e il gufo. L'ombra dei rami e del fogliame è il regno dei piccoli uccelli come il fringuello, il ciuffolotto, il fiorrancino e varie cince.
Il periodo migliore per visitare l'oasi delle abetine è la tarda primavera, l'estate e l'autunno: d'inverno dominano la neve e il gelo.
The woods of European Silver Fir in the peninsular Italy are few and localized. One of the most consistent nucleus stands just in the Municipality of Castiglione Messer Marino. The Natural Oasis Abetina of Selva Grande is a natural protected area created in 1996 and managed by the WWF, where fir and beech woods, once used for firewood and coal, cover relieves and unpolluted valleys. The Abetina of Selva Grande, 800 hectares spread, is divided into three parts: the European Silver Fir wood, the beech wood and the pasture areas. The European Silver Fir stands alone, or mixed to the beech and other species, such as maples (the rare Lobel's Maple), taxus, tilia, common ash, wych elm, common hornbeam, Turkish oak, common hazel, common whitebeam. The understory is very rich, and shows very beautiful plants, such as the crocus, the squills, the polygonatum odoratum and the aquilegia.
Mammals are represented by the noblest species: the wolf, the wildcat, the marten, the roe deer. Moreover, we can see the woodpeckers, such as the rare black woodpecker, and a lot of birds of prey, such as the Northern Goshawk, the Eurasian Sparrowhawk, the Common Buzzard, and among the night birds, the Tawny Owl, and the Long -- Eared Owl.
The shadow of branches is the kingdom of little birds, such as the chaffinch, the bullfinch, the common firecrest, and several tits.
The best period to visit the oasis of Silver Fir woods is the late spring, the summer and the fall: snow and freeze dominate winter.
Places to see in ( Arezzo - Italy ) Duomo San Donato
Places to see in ( Arezzo - Italy ) Duomo San Donato
Arezzo Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Arezzo in Tuscany, Italy. It is located on the site of a pre-existing Palaeo-Christian church and, perhaps, of the ancient city's acropolis.
A first cathedral of Arezzo was built on the nearby Pionta Hill, over the burial place of Donatus of Arezzo, martyred in 363. In 1203 Pope Innocent III had the cathedral moved within the city's walls, in the current site. The Cathedral, however, lost the relics of Donatus, which were transferred in the church of San Donato in Castiglione Messer Raimondo (in what is now the province of Teramo). In spite of this, the church is still entitled to St. Donatus and houses, at the high altar, a 14th-century arch named after him.
The construction of the current structure, started in 1278, went through different phases, and ended in 1511. The façade was built in 1901-1914, replacing the previous, unfinished one, dating to the 15th century. It was the seat of the Bishop of Arezzo from the 3rd century until 1986, and from 1986 onwards of the present Bishop of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro.
The façade was designed by Dante Viviani and has a sculpture description by Giuseppe Cassioli, Enrico Quattrini and Viviani himself. The right side of the church is from the original medieval building, in sandstone. In the middle is a 14th-century portal in Florentine style, with two porphyry columns taken from an ancient temple. The polygonal apse, with double mullioned windows, dates to the 13th century.
The interior has a nave and two aisles divided by piers with ogival arches, with five spans covered by cross vault, without a transept. The seven stained glass windows in the right aisles were executed in 1516-1524 by Guillaume de Marcillat. Other stained glass windows are in the presbytery, one also by Marcillat and another by early 15th century Florentine masters.
The presbytery houses a large arch dedicated to St. Donatus. Sculpted in marble, it has twelve small piers ending with spires and pinnacles in Gothic style and was executed by Florentine, Aretine and Sienese artists of the 14th century, including (in the lower section) Agnolo di Ventura and Agostino di Giovanni. The wooden choir of the Grand Chapel was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1554.
In the counter-façade is the hexagonal baptismal font, with reliefs by Donatello's workshop, including a Baptism of Christ by Donatello himself. The Chapel of Madonna del Confort is a Neoclassicist work, built from 1796 and housing several terracottas by Andrea della Robbia. In the same side is the cenotaph of Guido Tarlati, lord of Arezzo until 1327. According to some, it was designed by Giotto, and executed by Agnolo di Ventura and Agostino di Giovanni. Near to the cenotaph is Piero della Francesca's Mary Magdalene (1460s).
In the right aisle is the funerary monument of Pope Gregory X (died 1276), dating to the early 14th century. Another funerary monument in the aisles is that of Ciuto Tarlati (1334), formed by a marble sarcophagus of the 4th century AD and a series of reliefs by Agostino di Giovanni, crowned by a 14th-century fresco.
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Alto Vastese. Amore a prima visita. English
The south-eastern end of the mountainous Abruzzo region is one of the most hidden areas. From the southern part of Abruzzo and the southern Adriatic regions, the Frentani Mountains act as a natural doorway to the protected natural reserves of the Apennine region and the Great Natural Parks.
The Alto Vastese aera is a land of frontier and for this reason it holds an ancient heritage. Here the landscape, still hilly in many stretches of land, never becomes truly mountainous, but the tall wooden hills and the winding roads, lead higher and higher towards remote villages.
There are 8 municipal districts in the Alto Vastese region, stretching over the hills that face the Trigno River. In the past, the territory was literally studded with small villages and farmhouses that still prove, from an archaeological standpoint, the diffused presence of tiny rural settlements in the territory.
Every hill or mountain, however small, was occupied by an often dense network of sentry posts, watch towers, isolated towers, fortified farmhouses, all linked by a system of triangular networks that made the entire territory easy to change very quickly.
The open nature of the territory and the diffused structure of the settlements are at the base of the elevated trade economy with neighboring Molise, from which dynasties of crafters come from (stonemasons, organ-builders), all of whom gave a recognizable footprint to the territory's religious architecture.
The journey through the towns that make up the Alto Vastese area can begin from Torrebruna, considered the city of truffle where every year a festival is held that brings in tourisms from all over Italy. Honey, truffles, mushrooms, jams, excellent extra virgin olive oil, cheese, and of course cold meats: these are the products of excellence of this territory, worth a visit even just to enjoy its old-fashioned flavors as part of an oenograstronomic tour.
However, the Alto Vastese area offers also one of the most interesting emerging archaeological finds: in the neighborhoods of Schiavi di Abruzzo it is possible to find the Sacred Area of Italic Temples, which holds some of the best Samnite architectural finds.
Passing through Carunchio, classified as one of the Most beautiful villages of Italy, a little further down due south, about 2km from Fraine, an itinerary along the path of religious places cannot miss the Sanctuary of Mater Domini, immersed in the silence of an extraordinarily charming natural environment, and Bosco Vicenne, the green heart of the area, along with Abetina di Castiglione Messer Marino.
Carunchio
Il paese è arroccato tra foreste di cerri, faggi e castagni su di un colle alla destra del fiume Treste dal quale è possibile dominare con la vista gran parte della Maiella e del Gargano.
Le prime notizie risalgono al XII sec. Dopo il XIV secolo, fu feudo dei marchesi d'Avalos e dei principi Caracciolo. Originariamente il paese si trovava probabilmente situato in località Taverna, fu poi trasferito nel '500 nella sede attuale, probabilmente perché gli antichi abitanti la giudicarono più difendibile dalle frequenti incursioni saracene e slave. Dell'antica cinta muraria restano due porte, Porta Coluccia e Porta Nocicchia, o Porta Grande. La parte più alta del borgo medievale è occupata dai palazzi fortificati Turdò e Castelli che con la loro mole sembrano evocare la forma dell'antico Castello. Poco più in basso, è la Chiesa parrocchiale di San Giovanni Battista, al cui interno si può ammirare un rarissimo organo a canne di fine '600, opera di maestranze molisane.
Elementi di architettura medievale sono rintracciabili nella struttura della Chiesa del Purgatorio il cui interno accoglie uno splendido ciclo di affreschi del '300.
La Ventricina è protagonista della sagra che si svolge a Carunchio il 10 e l'11 di agosto, come tipica è anche la raccolta del tartufo.
Surrounded by Turkey oak, beech and chestnut trees, the village is clung to a hill on the right side of the Treste River that commands a great view of Maiella and Gargano.
The first sources date back to the 12th Century. After the 14th Century, it was feud of the d'Avalos and of the Caracciolo Princes. Originally the village was probably situated in the locality of Taverna, later in the 16th Century it has been moved to the current seat, perhaps because the earliest inhabitants considered it more defensible from Saracen and Slav frequent invasions. What is left of the ancient town walls are the two Gates of Coluccia and Nocicchia, which is also known as the Big Gate. In the highest part of the medieval village, the fortified buildings of Turdò and Castelli with their imposing mass seem to evoke the shape of the ancient Castle. Further down, the parish Church of San Giovanni Battista hosts in its interior a rare pipe organ of the 17th Century, manufactured by hands of the Molise region.
Medieval architecture features are to be found in the structure of the Church of Purgatorio, whose interior holds a marvelous series of frescos of the 14th Century.
Ventricina salami is one of the main characters of the festival that takes place in Carunchio on the 10th and 11th of August, so as the typical truffle crop.
Trigno Sinello Gusto. English
It is difficult to find places where flavours and gastronomic traditions are preserved from every kind of contamination and taste standardization. The gastronomic flavours of Abruzzo come from far away, from the depths of this region history, from centuries of experience in farming, breeding and raw material manufacturing.
Wine and oil represent the most important products of the local agricultural economy, the first ones that have gained different origin denominations and indications, such as the PDO (protected denomination of origin) extra virgin oil, the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and the AC (Appellation contrôlée) Trebbiano. Going a bit further, we notice that the southern part of Abruzzo presents a food and gastronomic heritage of several varieties and novelties, among which the irresistible ventricina, called the queen of Italian salami, represents the main dish.
The Vastese cuisine has many souls, due to the variety of territories and cultures that live here together.
The agro-pastoral cuisine has developed, as well as the one of peasants and shepherds living in mountain and piedmont areas, based on simple and tasty dishes, mutton, soup, cheese and sweet herbs, and the seafood cuisine that combines fish variety with the vegetable heritage of the hills close to the coast.
Typical dish of the seafood cuisine is brodetto alla vastese, a tasty fish soup dressed with fresh tomato sauce that has been created to make use of the entire rock fish variety, once called the scafetta from the small fisherman basket. Today this is a special dish that can include seafood, prawns, cuttlefishes, codfish, mullet, rock fish, smooth hound, ray and many other minor species.
This cuisine, either based on sea or agricultural food, has always been simple due to the exclusive use of the territory products and few elaborations; nonetheless, it reveals great creativity in many recipes, often originated from nutritional needs or from poor food availability or selection, so that old generations have been driven to use these products or mix them together in a creative way. An example is the pallotte cace e ove dish, conceived in order to make up for meat shortage.
Absolutely innovative is the combination of strong Mediterranean flavours in the scapece dish, a special fish conserve based on vinegar and saffron, typical of the Vastese coastline.
Original cooking methods are used to prepare the agnello sotto il coppo, where the lamb meat is placed directly on red-hot grill, under a big lid that reminds clearly of the pastoral culture, the transhumance and the open-air food preparation.
Homemade pasta is another main point of the regional gastronomy. One can easily find in the Vastese area the sagne a pèzze or tacconelle pasta, cut with the characteristic irregular rhomboidal shape, or the ndorciolloni, a type of handmade pasta cut with the help of a typical tool of the Abruzzo cuisine called the chitarra (guitar).
As already mentioned, among the territory specialties, the place of honour goes to cut cold meats, such as the prosciuttill salami or the liver salami in grape syrup from Schiavi Di Abruzzo, but above all, the red ventricina charcuterie, produced anywhere in the area, especially in Guilmi, Scerni, Palmoli, Carunchio, Castiglione Messer Marino, Carpineto and Roccaspinalveti, and to be tasted with delicious pecorino cheese. In the inland, other delightful products are the renowned tender artichokes of Cupello, belonging to the mazzaferrata variety and with the typical opening at the top, or both white and black truffles that make of Abruzzo one of the most important Italian region for truffle quantity and quality.
Moreover, the mountain and piedmont uncontaminated areas, so rich in sweet herbs and flowers, are the ideal environment for honey production. Associated with festivals and local traditions are patisserie products such as the cicerchiata pastries, sweet pies, the bocconotti, caggionetti with chickpeas and mostaccioli pastries, stuffed celli and ferratelle pastries, the aragonese sweet pie, the citrus nougat, all to be combined with a traditional grape syrup or ratafià wine glass.
Medio Vastese. Amore a prima visita. English. Parte II
The Medio Vastese area includes 16 towns and it extends over a territory that from the coast gently climbs up and enters the mountainous area. Sixteen communities, small jewels located only a few kilometers from Vasto and San Salvo, enveloped in a natural environment of extreme importance.
Three rivers, the Trigno, Treste and Sinello, cut through the territory up to the coast in symmetrical and orthogonal paths that accompany the slopes down from the sub-mountainous area. The entire area reminds of the typical Mediterranean landscape: pine groves, coppice and tall forest trees, green oasis of olive groves, almond and cherry trees.
The characteristic of the majority of these villages is their medieval structure. It can be said, in fact, that there is no village, dominant summit, mountain pass or promontory without its own tower, castle, fortified barrier, and homes built into the fortified walls of the city or under the arcades. Another unique characteristic of the area is the fact that most villages preserved their surroundings still untouched, within their original context.
This journey to the discovery of medieval history in the Medio Vastese area can begin from Carpineto Sinello which, in addition to the ruins of the Ducal Castle, hosts in the highest area of town also the peculiar and unique Museum of Pig; or the visit can begin from the 13th century Castle of Palmoli, which was declared a national monument in 1928.
Gissi holds spectacular scenery, where the most ancient homes were built overhanging and partly dug into the rock or drawn from the natural caves of a territory renowned for its crystallized gypsum quarries.
The historical centre of Monteodorisio, with its walls, majestic castle, the Church of San Giovanni Battista, the watch towers and the access doors to the city, evokes its medieval past at every corner.
Whoever arrives in town is greeted also by the Madonna delle Grazie shrine, a pilgrimage destination for the entire region.
Throughout the Dark Ages, hermitage was a strong expression of religious culture in Abruzzo: Medio Vastese offers also a fascinating itinerary to the discovery of its shrines.
In Liscia it is possible to find the San Michele Arcangelo shrine, immersed in the green surroundings of an enormous forest, adjacent to an extremely old cave with a source of spring water and stalactites.
The Furci village is renowned especially for being the birthplace of Beato Angelo, an Augustian friar, a great performer of miracles. Every year thousands of pilgrims travel to Furci to visit the shrine dedicated to Beato Angelo.
At the entrance of Scerni there is the Madonna della Strada shrine, while in San Buono it is possible to find the magnificent Convent of Sant'Antonio, immersed in nature, a convent that today also hosts the Art and Achaeology Museum of the Vastese Area.
The distinctive traits that characterize the territory of the Medio Vastese are found in those values that allowed the local populations to manage the environmental heritage over time while renovating the available resources, from forestry to sheep farming to the production of unique cheeses and cold cuts.
In the hilly area and in the area at the foot of the hills, which extends from the hills of Scerni and Guilmi up to Roccaspinalveti, the pig, symbol of abundance in regional tradition, still holds an important place in today's farming economy and it allowed the production of high quality pork-butchering; it is sufficient to think about the great fame of the ventricina, the most traditional local cold-cut still produced in an old-fashioned manner.
Another typical product representative of the territory is the artichoke of Cupello, recognized by the European Quality mark. An excellent artichoke both for fresh consumption and for processing, called mazzaferrata (iron mace) for its rounded shape, which reminds that of the ancient medieval weapon.
Villa for sale in Collecorvino (Pescara) - Abruzzo Italy
Torrebruna
L'abitato si arrampica sulla sommità di una collina con le sue caratteristiche abitazioni in pietra disposte a cerchi concentrici digradanti verso il basso. L'attuale insediamento è da far risalire all'Alto Medioevo. Nel XIII sec. Torrebruna fu feudo di Odorisio di Sinibaldo e nel XIV sec. dei Caracciolo, poi dei d'Avalos. Nel borgo si incontrano varie tracce delle mura e delle porte dell'antica cinta fortificata. Spicca in posizione centrale nella parte più elevata del borgo antico la Chiesa parrocchiale della Trasfigurazione che al suo interno conserva notevoli opere d'arte, come un busto in legno raffigurante San Placido della scuola napoletana del '700, una statua della Madonna delle Grazie, scolpita della seconda metà del '700, tele del pittore abruzzese Francesco De Benedictis, e un notevole organo del XVIII secolo.
Ricco di suggestioni di altri tempi è il borgo fortificato di Guardiabruna, arroccato su un ripido rilievo dove il Palazzo Baronale Piccirilli domina da uno sperone di roccia a strapiombo il nucleo più antico del villaggio. Il bosco di cerri, faggi e castagni che ricopre la Montagna di Torrebruna offe la possibilità di fare escursioni e passeggiate, occasione di raccolta di funghi e tartufi. Dal 1996, a Torrebruna si celebra ad agosto il Tartufo Re, una grande sagra che offre, oltre ai migliori piatti a base di tartufo, approfondimenti e riflessioni su questo prezioso prodotto alimentare.
The village climbs up on the top of a hill with its typical stone houses arranged in concentric rings that slope down gradually. The current settlement dates back to the early Middle Ages. In the 13th Century Torrebruna was feud of Odorisio di Sinibaldo, in the 14th Century the Caracciolo and later the d'Avalos feud. In the village there are several ruins of the town walls and of the fortified old bound gates. The parish Church of Trasfigurazione stands out in the middle of the ancient village highest part; in its interior it preserves remarkable works of art, such as a wooden bust of San Placido by the Neapolitan school of the 18th Century, a statue of Our Lady of Graces, sculptured in the second half of the 18th Century, paintings by Franscesco De Benedictis from Abruzzi, and an outstanding organ of the 18th Century.
The fortified village of Guardiabruna has a great charming, clung on a steep relief where the Piccirilli Baronial Palace overlooks the most ancient core of the village from an overhanging rock ness. The Turkey oak, beech and chestnut tree wood that covers the Torrebruna Mountain offers the opportunity to make excursions and walks, to reap mushrooms and truffles. From 1996, the great festival of Tartufo Re takes place in Torrebruna in August and offers, besides the best truffle dishes, investigations and remarks on this precious food product.